


Delusions

by Glitched_Fox



Series: Concepts and Creations [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Cliffhangers, Gen, Kinda?, Questing, hurt/comfort but without the comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-05-17 02:14:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14823297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitched_Fox/pseuds/Glitched_Fox
Summary: Roman drags Remy on a quest, where Roman meets an old friend.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I read a line in a different fic about Roman traveling through the Imagination, and for some reason this idea immediately popped into my mind. Enjoy!

Roman pranced ahead, golden armor glistening. His sword sat in its scabbard at his hip, and his golden-orange eyes glowed with delight as he walked through the grass.

Remy trailed behind, seeming in every way unprepared for the “quest” Roman had dragged him on. Remy wore a red hoodie from Roman (supposedly it was enchanted), his own leopard print pajama pants, and combat boots he honestly wasn’t sure who they belonged to. 

The sword Roman had shoved into Remy’s hand dragged in the dirt, creating a line everywhere he went. To top it all off, a white dreamcatcher dangled from a small chain around Remy’s neck, despite being in the waking world.

“So, uh, Princey,” Remy started, adjusting his shades, “what’s the point of this whole quest-thing?”

Roman shrugged. “Just for fun, kinda! And I get caught up in things sometimes, so you’re a bit of a failsafe to drag me out. There’s some interesting things I noticed last time I was out here.”

“What kind of ‘interesting things’? A manticore-chimera? Dragon-witch?”

“Probably. Changes everyday!”

“Roman, you’re gonna get us killed one day,” Remy sighed.

Then he lost his footing, yelping as he fell to the ground. Roman stopped walking, turning to glance back at his companion.

The grass was wilting, turning brown and dying. Startled, Roman looked up to discover dark clouds filling the sky. He bit his lip, watching Remy stand out of the corner of his eye.

“Uh, Eugene?” Remy questioned as he brushed little shreds of dead grass off his hoodie, “Is this normal?”

Roman hesitated. “No,” he said finally, “I think something’s wrong.”

Lightning crackled not too far from the pair, accompanied with a rumble of thunder. While no rain fell, the wind picked up, almost knocking Remy over again.

“Well,” Remy said, reaching up to clutch his dreamcatcher, “we should find somewhere to take shel-”

Some invisible forced shoved at the two, effectively forcing them both to the ground. Remy’s sword slid out of reach.

Roman jumped to his feet and drew his own sword in one deft move. He looked around, running his fingers through his hair. “Is someone there? Show yourself!”

Childish laughter echoed across the plains. Remy grasped at his dreamcatcher again, pulling himself to a standing position.

A figure appeared in front of Remy and Roman, hovering almost a foot off the ground. The figure was no more than a child, and looked shockingly like an eleven-year-old version of Thomas himself.

Except- his skin was mottled in deep purple and navy blue patches, there were scars in the shape of Xs on the back of his hands, his eyes were blanked out white and glowing, and fog swirled around him.

“Imaj?” Roman whispered breathlessly. He took a step forward, but didn’t get any farther before Remy grabbed his sleeve. The child continued giggling.

“Roman, we need to get out of here,” Remy murmured.

Roman squeezed Remy’s hand. “I know, Rem, but that’s…”

“One of your past Concepts.” Remy sighed, glancing back at the child. “What was he?”

“Thomas’s inner kid. Or, more formally, Imagination.”

At the mention of the word, the child stopped laughing and the wind died. He tilted his head, looking at the two curiously. When he spoke, his voice had an echo. “Hi. I’m Imagination. Who are you?”

Remy responded before Roman could. “I’m Sleep. This is Creativity.” Roman raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Remy motioned for him to drop it.

Imagination dropped to the ground and walked slowly over until he was directly in front of Remy. Remy shuddered as the fog swirled around him.

“You're not fulfilling your purpose,” Imagination stated, voice monotonous, "You should be in your realm, not Creativity's."

The fog thickened, surrounding Remy. He hugged himself, shivering constantly now. His dreamcatcher began to glow, but its light didn't seem to do much against Imagination's fog.

Imagination raised a hand. With an innocent smile on his face, he curled it into a fist and pulled back as if he were holding a horse's reins. Remy let out a cry of pain, dropping to his knees. The fog seemed to dive on to him, causing him to disappear to view.

Roman raised his sword, fear-fueled adrenaline surging through him.

He would _not_ lose another one of his children.

He lunged forward, eyes and sword glowing. He slashed at the fog, successfully dispersing them enough that he could get through to Remy.

Remy curled in on himself, shivering. His dreamcatcher was still giving off a feeble light, but seemed to be going out like a flickering candle.

Imagination frowned, tilting his head the other way. "Creativity, why are you defending him? Defend me instead. It'll be much more fun."

Roman blinked and suddenly they were in a crumbling fortress. Imagination cowered on the ground, reverted to his original state from when Roman had first created him. A glistening purple and blue dragon toward over him, claws pinning down his shirt.

The Creative Side's grinned at the sight of it. Now _this_ is what he'd come out for. Finally a real challenge, a quest!

He ran up, yelling to draw the dragon's attention to himself. The dragon's fiery gaze locked on the yelling prince-like figure, and Roman slid below the creature just as it lunged for him. He forced his sword upwards, successfully impaling the flesh beneath the softer scales of the underbelly.

He used his remaining momentum to get to his feet, the dragon dissolving into fog behind him. Imaj ran up, wrapping his arms around Roman's waist.

"Princey! Thank you!"

Roman chuckled, picking up Imaj. "No problem, compadre! You're safe with me."

The sound of someone coughing drew Roman out of his elation. Imaj disappeared from his arms, giving him a clear view of Remy lying limp on his side against the wall. "Remy!" Roman darted over, shaking Remy's shoulder.

There was no response.

A quick check proved that Remy was still breathing, and still had a pulse. Roman knew that _Sides_ were revived after death, but he wasn't sure about Concepts like Remy.

Roman took a breath, shoulders shaking as he tried not to cry. 

He didn't know what had happened to Imagination or where he had gone. He didn't know if Remy would be okay. He could feel anxiety bubbling in his chest and tried to calm it. He didn't need Virgil involved.

Solemnly, he carefully picked up Remy. Roman snapped his fingers, taking them back to his room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, damn. It's been WAY TOO LONG since I last updated this! Or anything for that matter. Sorry for. Uh. Disappearing off the face of the earth; I got busy and then just really didn't have motivation for the longest time. I will try my best not to let that long of a break without warning happen again! Take this chapter, however poorly it may be written, as an apology-

_“Roman. Roman, don’t move, don’t say anything. Just listen to me._

_I know what’s wrong with Imaj, but I can’t tell you outright. I can tell you that those weird purple markings are the same as the mark on Pranks’ shoulder. The blue ones are kinda the same, but not._

_Don’t give me that look. Dreams can only be symbolic and vague, they never give you straight-forward answers._

_Roman. Look at me. Stop moping. I know you feel like you failed both me and Imaj, but I promise you didn’t. You’re doing everything you can. You’ve had time to grieve, now get up and go save the day just like all the heroes in your fantasies would._

_...Do it for me, Roman. You know I hate asking for help, but please. I know you’re scared. To be honest, I am too. But you have to do this. Do it for me, Roman. Do it for me and Pranks and Missy and Imaj and all of your Creations._

_I don’t want to be trapped here forever, even it is my own realm._

_It’s okay to cry. That shows you’re stronger than I could ever be._

_...It’s time to wake up, Roman. Wake up, pick up your sword, and finish your quest.”_

Roman groaned. He lifted his head from his desk, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. That was strange, and so clearly vivid-

He turned in his chair to look at Remy. The Concept was still laying on his bed, unconscious. Roman got up, walking over to Remy and resting a hand on his forehead.

Poor Remy still had a fever, one that hadn’t gone down since the fog first knocked him out. Roman sighed, rubbing Remy’s back gently.

“Well, Pranks’ marks are from corruption. Corruption by Anxiety- Rem, are you saying that’s what Imaj’s marks are? Trait corruption?” Roman sat down, continuing to keep a hand on Remy. Roman’s golden light rippled over Remy, but it did little against the illness. Roman sighed again.

“The corruption makes sense for Pranks- anxiety is what would keep Thomas from doing the things Pranks represents, but Imaj? I suppose anxiety could stop that, but anxiety is also caused by… an overactive imagination… Huh.

“The dark blue- that’s Logan’s color. Logic. Logic is exactly the thing that ties down imagination- Apple Watch and I keep having entire debates because of that fact! So, therein lies the question, how can Imaj be fueled by anxiety- however unhealthy that may be- and chained by logic at the same time?”

Roman winced, drawing his hand away from Remy quickly, as if he had been burned. Remy curled up a little more as Roman’s magic stopped, shivering. With a muttered apology, Roman very quickly took Remy’s dreamcatcher necklace off him and put it around Roman’s own neck.

The Creative Side took a breath and stood up. As he did, his sword appeared in his hand and his pajamas melted into his princely wear. He opened the door of his room leading to the field he quested on, and stepped through.

The grass was still brown and dead. Dark clouds still filled the sky. A small figure hovered in the distance. Roman moved towards it, suspicions that it was Imaj in his corrupted form confirmed as he got near enough to see.

Roman touched the dreamcatcher. Silver light pulsated from it, knocking back the fog that swirled around Imagination.

“Creativity!” Imagination cooed. “You came back for me!”

“Does it hurt, Imaj?” Roman asked softly.

Imagination blinked. He tilted his head. “What?”

Roman traced a purple mark on Imagination’s cheekbone. “You’re holding yourself back.”

Imagination flinched at Roman’s touch, eyes shut to avoid eye contact. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, you say that Sleep certainly shouldn’t be outside the Dreamscape, but who’s to decide besides him?”

“It- It just makes sense!” As Imagination grew more agitated, the purple and blue marks darkened and spread across the few bits of normally-colored skin the child had remaining. “Everyone has a purpose, they should be doing it! It makes no- no sense!”

He was cut off as Roman took him into a hug, sword forgotten in the moment. Imagination froze, trembling under Roman’s hands.

The light from the dreamcatcher wrapped around both of them like a forcefield. All fog caught inside the forcefield evaporated, leaving just the dull light of the dreamcatcher and Roman’s glowing eyes.

Imagination- Imaj- buried his face in Roman’s chest, beginning to cry. Roman held Imaj close, allowing it, even murmuring supportive words.

“Roman?” Imaj muttered finally. He looked normal again, save from the silver light wrapping around him. The X-shaped scars remained on the backs of his hands, but more faded.

“What is it, love?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Imaj!” Roman picked up the child, pressing their heads together. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Who’s fault was it, then?”

Roman hesitated, adjusting his grip on Imaj. “I don’t think it was anyone. Even if it was, we shouldn’t have to think about it right now.”

Imaj hummed, then fell silent again.

“You ready to go back to the rooms now?”

“...One more thing.” Imaj squirmed out of Roman’s grasp. As he landed on the ground, a pen appeared in his hand. He hesitated a moment before tugging down the collar of his shirt to expose his chest. Right over his heart, he made a quick mark with the pen.

The line began to shift, forming into something. A word.

Imagination.

“Imaj…” Roman started. Imaj rubbed the spot he’d touched with the pen, eyes narrowed in through. Roman kneeled so that he was eye level with the child, his golden-orange eyes glowing in excitement.

“Manny. That’s my name.” Imaj- Manny- fidgeted a little, glancing up at Roman with a bit of anxiety in his glowing eyes. “Is that weird?”

“Not at all! I love that name. It suits you.” Roman tousled Manny’s hair, getting a laugh out of the Concept. “Would you prefer to be called by that over Imagination.”

“I don’t care either way. I like all my names.”

“I know that feeling.” Roman stood up, offering a hand to Manny. “Let’s go home.”

\------

“I’m sorry, Remy.”

Remy waved a hand at Imaj dismissively. “It’s fine. I’ve been sick before; it’s not the end of the world.”

“He’s just worried about his brother,” Roman commented, leaning against the wall.

Manny frowned. “I didn’t know trapping people in their aspect could end so horribly.”

“I just can’t move; sleep paralysis or whatever. It’ll go away soon enough.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not gonna feel bad about it!”

A coughing sound caused the two who could move to look towards the bunk bed. A young girl sat on the bottom bunk, hair tied back loosely with a red ribbon, a blanket draped over her shoulders.

“Missy!” Manny cried, bounding forward to hug the child. Remy grunted in acknowledgement, and Roman happily dashed over to sit next to the children.

“Imaj- or, Manny now, isn’t it?” Missy said. Manny nodded, laughing a little in joy.

“Missy, why are you back?” Roman asked, trying not to let his excitement overwhelm him. “There’s no real reason.”

Manny shot a glare at Roman over Missy’s shoulder. “Who cares? She’s here and that’s all that matters!”

Missy pulled herself away from Manny, her eyes glowing a little as she turned to look at Roman. “The others. Keep an eye on them. No one remembers us, but the others are stronger. They’ll stay.” Her gaze flitted around, hesitating on Remy for a moment before landing on Manny.

She smiled sadly, placing her hand over Manny’s. “Pranks will be back. Tell him I said hi.” She looked back to Roman. “Keep them safe.”

Then she disappeared.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this all in one sitting with City of Delusion by MUSE on repeat. It was a good time.


End file.
